My name is Edward Michniewicz. I have been happily married since 1967. In 1996 Doris' Mom passed away and we inherited a basic service for 8 of Old Curiosity Shop dinnerware. These were the dishes that were traditionally used on holidays and special family gatherings in Doris' family. They hold a lot of sentimental value. As the set was short a few pieces, Doris asked if I could find more of these items on the Internet. I said I thought I could and found eBay. We then found out these items were "collectible". We then started looking in the local Antique and Collectible shops for "our dishes". We had no idea of how many pieces were in this set and were thrilled at out new discoveries and acquisitions. But some of these items were costing more and more. It then came to mind that while looking for "our dishes" we ran across deals on other patterns of Royal Items. Brainstorm! We can buy the good deals on those C&I, Memory Lane, and others and resell them and invest our earnings into completing our set. Well one thing led to another, and I am not known for passing up a good deal, and we have amassed over 18,000 pieces of Royal China that we sell through our website. When we found the C&I Club we were thrilled. We began learning more and more about these dishes and making new friends in the process.